Issues in Media. Fourth Edition by The CQ Researcher

Author:The CQ Researcher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-23T04:38:56.470093+00:00

Gaspard’s gaffe is just one example of the polarization and hostility that seem to characterize some online political communication. And the ill feelings are not restricted to political leaders.

A woman in the Houston, Texas, area became so disturbed about the tone of political debate that she declared her Facebook page to be a “Politics-Free zone.” “Let’s all take a deep breath, step back and remember that we are friends — in spite of our political views,” Sandy Mansfield posted.12

More than a third of social media users in a Pew Research Center study this year reported receiving a “strong negative reaction” after they posted a political comment.13

Explanations for the phenomenon range from the overall polarized political climate to the nature of social media themselves.

The brevity of social media messages tends to “tweak people’s impulses rather than cause them to think,” said Bill Shireman, president of Future 500, a San Francisco consulting firm that helps businesses work with activist groups. “So prejudice and group-think can appear very quickly with few restraints.”14

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